Interactive Activities
Requests for speakers and activities can be made 90 days in advance. If your request is for a date more than 90 days out, please wait to make your request.
Please limit requests to two presentations per semester.
TOPIC AREAS
- AIR & ATMOSPHERE
- ENERGY, SUSTAINABILITY & CLIMATE CHANGE
- ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
- ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
- WATER
| Activity | Description | Duration | Audience | Max. Class Size | Presenters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Use a board game to learn about costs & benefits of different types of fuel for electricity. Requires computer with PowerPoint/Excel and projector. | 60-90 minutes | Grades 6-12, Adults | 25 | Request a presenter for GENERATE: The Game of Energy Choices | |
| Model combustion of fossil fuels to show how air pollution is created and climate impacted. | 20-45 minutes | Grades 3-10, Booth | 30 | Request a presenter for Air Chemistry with Legos | |
| Assemble and test a PM sensor with an Arduino circuit board, LED lights, PM sensor, and wiring. | 30-45 minutes | Grades 6-10, Booth | 20 | Request a presenter for Building a Particulate Matter (PM) Sensor | |
|
Air Quality Overview: Sources of Air Pollution and Health Impacts |
Interactive presentation with a range of hands-on activities including: matching particles with their sources, measuring lung capacity, and visualizing C02 levels using a colorful flower sensor |
45-60 minutes | Grades 3-12, Adults, Booth | 30 | Request a presenter for Air Quality Overview: Sources of Air Pollution and Health Impacts |
| Activity | Description | Duration | Audience | Max. Class Size | Presenters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Climate Change Impacts | Collaborate in small groups to learn about the impacts of climate change on human health and explore approaches to science communication | 45 minutes | 8th grade-Adult | 30 | Request a presenter for Climate Change Impacts |
| Use a board game to learn about costs & benefits of different types of fuel for electricity. Requires computer with PowerPoint/Excel and projector. | 60-90 minutes | Grades 6-12, Adults | 25 | Request a presenter for GENERATE: The Game of Energy Choices | |
| Imagine Our Community 2100 |
This discussion-based activity encourages participants to imagine their community 80 years into the future using the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. |
45-60 minutes | Grade 8 - Adult | 30 | Request a presenter for Imagine Our Community 2100 |
|
Mobility: The Game of Transportation Choices |
Use a card game to learn about costs & benefits of different types of transportation modes. Requires computer with PowerPoint and projector. |
60-90 minutes | Grades 6-12, Adults | 25 | Request a presenter for Mobility: The Game of Transportation Choices |
| Urban Heat Islands | Measure surface and ambient temperatures in outdoor locations to learn how urban changes to the environment can affect temperature & human health. | 30-45 minutes | Grades 5-12, Adults | 20 | Request a presenter for Urban Heat Islands |
| Watts Up with Energy | Measure electricity consumption with Watts Meters. Older students can use math to calculate annual costs. | 15-45 minutes | Grades 3-12, Adults, Booth | 20 | Request a presenter for Watts Up with Energy |
| Activity | Description | Duration | Audience |
Max. Class Size |
Presenters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bat Chats | Learn about the world's most underrated pollinators and pest controllers and how they can protect human health with this interactive activity. | 30-45 minutes | Grades K-5 | 30 | Request a presenter for Bat Chats |
| Benefits of Trees | Learn to use iNaturalist for identification and assess the annual economic value of a tree. | 30-45 minutes | Grades 5-12, Adults | 30 | Request a presenter for Benefits of Trees |
| Connecting Ecosystems & Human Health | Use a group activity to understand the services that ecosystems provide and how these services provide health benefits to humans. | 30-45 minutes | Grades 3 - College |
Grades 3-8: 20 participants Grades 9-College: 30 participants |
Request a presenter for Connecting Ecosystems & Human Health |
| Ecosystem Bingo | Introduce the concept of ecosystem services through this interactive bingo game. | 30-45 minutes | Grades 8-12 | 30 | Request a presenter for Ecosystem Bingo |
| Nature's Benefits Game |
Explore how people benefit from nature, how our actions impact the benefits we receive, and how working together can sustain benefits for everyone. |
45-60 minutes | Grades 9-12 | 30 | Request a presenter for Nature's Benefits Game |
| Activity | Description | Duration | Audience |
Max. Class Size |
Presenters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building a Greenway: A Case Study | Engage in real-world decision-making using maps and data to balance stakeholder interests with environmental justice. | 60 minutes | Grade 8 - Adult | 30 | Request a presenter for Building a Greenway: A Case Study |
| “We Birthed the Movement” Activity |
Learn about the birth of the Environmental Justice movement in Warren County, NC and explore ways to get involved in your own community. |
60 minutes | Grade 6 - Adult | 30 | Request a presenter for “We Birthed the Movement” Activity |
| Activity | Description | Duration | Audience | Max. Class Size | Presenters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Blue Planet |
Using an inflatable globe, this active game models Earth’s size and estimates the percentage covered by water with a simple probability sample. |
30 minutes | Grade 3 - Adult | 25 | Request a presenter for Blue Planet |
| Macroinvertebrate Mayhem |
An active game that illustrates how tolerance to water quality conditions vary among macroinvertebrate organisms and how population diversity provides insight into the health of an ecosystems. |
45 minutes | Grade 3 - Adult | 30 | Request a presenter for Macroinvertebrate Mayhem |
|
Practice field sampling skills in a body of water and learn about biodiversity and macroinvertebrates as a bioindicator of water quality. Requires an on-site water body, such as a pond or stream. Can be done at the EPA-RTP campus. |
45 - 60 minutes | Grade 3 - Adult | 25 | Request a presenter for Macroinvertebrate Sampling | |
| Sum of the Parts | Combine art and STEM and roleplay landowners and learn the difference between point and non-point sources of water pollution. Identify ways to reduce waste and pollution in our own communities. | 30 minutes | Grades 2-6 | 30 | Request a presenter for Sum of the Parts |